The Chemistry of Love (Sans x reader)
by CrazyLexy
Summary: It's been six months since monsters left Mt. Ebott. They'd manage to blend into society as best they could, but Anti Monster gangs run the streets, scaring many away. They forced monsters to stay on the outskirts of the city, close to the mountain. Then one day, the university that you work at dared to hire a couple of monsters. Nothing could prepare you for what would happen next.
1. Chapter 1

It's been nearly six months since the monsters broke the barrier and moved out alongside humans. There was a lot of panic when they first surfaced. Suddenly, these things of myth weren't just myths anymore. They're living, sentient beings that want to be given a chance just like everyone else. Maybe it was their calm demeanor that kept us humans from lashing out violently at them. Or maybe it was because they surfaced with a human child that wasn't afraid of them. Either way, they slowly started working their way into the city. Thanks to that adorable child ambassador named Frisk, monsters were starting to gain a little acceptance. The neighborhoods and shops near Mt. Ebott, those that were typically of lower income, were the first to accept monsters rather than turn them away. Since you lived a little closer to the heart of the city, your life wasn't altered all that much by their appearance. It was as if they were still myths. Every so often you would hear hushed whispers that some monsters tried coming further in only to be driven back by the Anti Monster gangs that started to plague the city, but you had never seen one. Certainly never dreamed of working alongside one, either. But fate is a mysterious thing.

—

The professors and other graduate students you work with are usually really nice people. The atmosphere of the Chemistry floor is always really relaxed and filled with laughter. It was something you had grown accustomed to. So when you stepped through the doors of the office and were met with loud voices and angry tones, you were pretty confused and maybe even a little frightened. For a moment you stood there trying to decipher what the professors are going on about. Did someone get fired? No, maybe there was an accident in the lab that caused some research to be lost. That certainly was something that could cause all this tension.

You're drawn from your wandering thoughts by Dr. Lloyd. He seems to be the most angry of the bunch, and his voice is quick to drown out the others. "I can't believe the president would stand for it! To think, those things working along side real scientists. It's disrespectful and sickening," he hisses, rubbing at his temples. A few of the other professors are quick to murmur their agreements before the door on the other side of the office opens suddenly. When the department chair, Dr. Wickman, walks out of his office everyone stops talking immediately. He gazes out at everyone before saying, "You all have work to do, or classes to teach. Go do your jobs."

With that, everyone scatters until it's just you, the secretary, and Dr. Wickman. He sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose before motioning for you to follow him into his office. When you're both seated you finally ask the question that's been eating at you. "Dr. Wickman, what was all that about?"

"Well, there's changes taking place here on campus. Some new faculty have been hired that several of the professors, led Dr. Lloyd, don't think should be allowed to work here," he replies slowly. "The university's president has decided that we need to stay by our promise to be an equal opportunity institution. So, the Physics and Engineering departments have each hired a monster."

"That's great!" you reply, honestly happy that the monsters have managed to take another step towards full equality. "I don't understand why people would be upset, though. We can probably learn quite a bit from them! You know, I've been thinking that maybe-"

"Calm down!" Dr. Wickman chuckles, relaxing in his seat. "I'm glad to hear that you are not a biggot. I agree, we could learn a lot from monsters if we work alongside them. Which is why I was going to ask if you'd be willing to hand off the research you're currently working on in exchange for starting a brand new project. One that's entirely your own, mind you. Our department was asked to come up with a research project pertaining to monster magic, and I had no one better in mind to take the job than you."

There's silence as you sit there in utter shock, with your mouth hanging open ever so slightly. This is the chance of a lifetime! Not only would you get to sate your personal curiosity about monsters, but you would also get to finally work on something that came form your own mind. The days of being a glorified lab assistant were now behind you. You couldn't say 'yes' fast enough!

—

As you walk down the halls of the Physics department, you can't help but giggle at the butterflies fluttering around in your stomach. 'It's finally happening,' you think happily to yourself. 'I'm about to meet a real monster! And a nerdy one, at that!' You were excited, yes, but also very nervous. You didn't want to come off as an insensitive jerk, but at the same time you couldn't wait to learn any and everything about monsters. You hoped that you and the monster would get along, which would make working together so much easier.

Your excitement died down quickly, however, when you couldn't locate the monster. He (or was it a she?) was nowhere to be seen in the Physics building, and none of the people you asked had been helpful. You spent nearly an hour wandering the halls, looking for any sign of the monster. By the time you gave up, it was about a quarter after noon. With a frustrated sigh you decided to go ahead and go get lunch before trying to find the monster again.

The campus cafeteria was usually bursting with people since the food wasn't half bad, not to mention is was conveniently placed almost directly in the middle of campus, but you noticed that one corner seemed void of life. It was a section that was tucked away partially by a wall, but still visible enough for you to tell it was empty. Since you were filled with curiosity, once you had your meal you made your way to the section. Just as you rounded the wall you saw why no one was over here, and it filled you with both excitement and anger.

There was what looked to be a skeletal monster sitting at one of the small tables. You couldn't see much since they had their back turned to you, but the white skull was confirmation enough. After getting over your initial shock you walked over to the table, and stood so that you were looking down at the monster. "Do you mind if I sit with you?" you ask just as they look up from their burger.

The monster was rather comical looking, you had to admit. It's bones weren't the size of a typical human's, instead they were a little thicker, and it's skull bore a wider grin than you could have imagined. You noticed that when you asked permission to sit down, it's smile seemed to widen fractionally.

"Not at all," a low, baritone-like voice replied. You smiled and slid into the seat opposite him, before offering up your hand in greetings. "Thanks! My name's (y/n)." He shook your hand, and you were surprised to find his bones warm. They felt just like the bones of that one skeleton model you studied in high school, but instead of being cold they gave off some warmth.

When he replied, "My name's Sans," you were shocked to see that his mouth didn't move from it's smile. It was like his voice just manifested out of nowhere! 'How fascinating,' you thought to yourself as you started to eat your meal. "So," you started after a moment of silence, "which department were you hired for?"

He seems taken back for a second, his grin lowering at the corners before perking back up. "The Physics department. I'm going to be shadowing an adjunct for now. But how would you know that, if you don't mind me asking."

"I'm a graduate student in the Chemistry department. In fact, I was looking for you earlier! Our department chairs wanted us to get together on a research project," you say excitedly. His.. brow bones? scrunch together for a second before relaxing back into an amused look.

"A graduate student, hu? No offense kid, but I seriously thought you were an undergrad." he chuckles before picking up a fry, and plopping it in his mouth. You're silent for a split second as you watch his teeth separate, and then the fry disappear into the blackness that is his mouth, before you think of a reply.

You place a hand over your heart and feign a hurt look, "I'm insulted! Whatever would make you think that?" Of course, you knew why he made that assumption. You had graduated high school early, and by extension college. You had turned twenty just before getting accepted into graduate school. Needless to say, you looked as if you should still be an undergrad.

"You have way too much energy to be older than twenty. Even though you're dressed nice, you still look like a teenager. And… You have such an innocent look about you. Like you haven't seen how fucked up this world is quite yet," he mumbles before lapsing into silence.

You clear your throat before attempting to break the awkward silence. You blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. "Well, I try to think like a proton and stay positive." When he doesn't say anything, you look up from the table to see him staring at you with wide (well, wider) eyes. You're about to apologize for your terrible science joke when he bursts out laughing. When he leans his head back, still roaring with laughter, you can't help but feel accomplished.

He recovers from his laugher within seconds, and wipes a small, blue tear from he corner of his eye before replying, "You know, I don't usually make chemistry jokes since I'm afraid I wont get a reaction, but I'll make an exception for you." You giggle at his pun, honestly already enjoying his company. It seems like the two of you are going to become great friends. He stops chuckling to try and look at you sternly while saying, "But seriously kid, I'm warning you. I make bad science puns periodically." It's your turn to double over in laughter, to which he follows suit. The tense moment from early is forgotten as you toss puns back and forth for awhile. But alas, you both had to get back to work. Before you two go your opposite ways, you ask to switch contact information, of which he seems more than happy to do. As you walk towards the Chemistry department, you can't keep the spring out of your step or the smile off your face.


	2. Chapter 2

**AUTHOR NOTE:**

Hiya! If you're reading this, thank you! I'll try to keep it short and sweet, I promise!

This is my first time writing FanFiction. I've writing original stories before, but I've never taken someone else's character and placed them in my own story. So I hope you enjoy it! This particular story has been gnawing at me for some time now, and I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do.

And I promise this story won't be full of science stuff! Just the occasional pun, and enough science talk to show what a nerd Sans is (or at least, to the caliber I think he is). Also, I'm planning on it being a medium burn. I don't want it to be slow, but I also want there to be some plot, you know? So yes, I do plan on there being some smutty sin later on! Of which I will specifically mark for those who wish to skip it, or are only here for that. Okay, I'm done rambling now… Thank you again!

 **Chapter 2:**

The next day finds you sitting in your tiny office, contemplating if you should contact Sans or not. ' _It's only his second day,'_ you think to yourself as you stare down at your phone. ' _He's probably still getting settled in over there. Even though I really want to get started on this project, I don't want to bother him if he's busy.'_ After weighing your options, you finally decide to stop acting like a child and walk over to the Physics building. You'll offer to help him get settled in, and then if there's time you could inquire about the project. If he refuses your help, or is too busy, well... Then you would return to your office and come up with a Plan B!

As you're walking towards your destination you hear a loud, slightly high pitched voice coming from somewhere to your right. When you turn to look, you see a rather tall skeletal monster trying to get the attention of a group of students. They look at him for a second before ducking their heads and briskly walking away. Anger prickles at the back of your neck as you turn and start walking towards the monster. Even though he has a permanent smile etched into his skull, you notice pseudo eyebrows creased with confusion. You chalk it up to magic.

"Excuse me. I'm sorry about those students, but I'd be more than happy to help you," you say with a smile once you get close enough to him. His face lights up once you make eye contact, and he closes the gap between you two in two long strides. In fact, you almost bump in to him since you can't stop walking fast enough. As you're trying to put a little distance between you, he starts talking rapidly.

"THANK YOU, HUMAN! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, AM LOOKING FOR THE PHYSICS BUILDING. YOU SEE, MY BROTHER FORGOT HIS LUNCH THIS MORNING AND SINCE I AM SUCH A GREAT BROTHER I DECIDED TO BRING IT TO HIM!" Papyrus beams at you as he holds up a large tupperware full of what appears to be spaghetti.

"Oh, are you Sans' brother? I'm actually on my way to see him right now! My name's (y/n), by the way." you reply, your smile widening fractionally. Even though he is quite loud, you can't help but like Papyrus. His good mood is rather infectious.

"WAIT," He yells suddenly, causing you to jolt back in shock, "ARE YOU THE DORKY CHEMIST WHO HAD LUNCH WITH SANS YESTERDAY?"

"Um, y-yes?" Your reply is more of a question than an answer, but he seems satisfied nonetheless. You're still trying to wrap your head around the fact that Sans referred to you as a dork to his brother, when suddenly the tupperware is shoved at you.

"IN THAT CASE, I TRUST THAT YOU WILL GIVE THIS TO MY BROTHER. WALKING AROUND THIS CAMPUS SO LONG HAS MADE ME RATHER LATE FOR WORK. THERE'S PLENTY THERE FOR YOU AS WELL. THANK YOU, (Y/N)!" With that he turns and walks off with a "NYEH HEH". You stare at his retreating form, blinking slowly, before turning and walking back towards your original destination.

It takes asking a few people for directions before you finally make it to where Sans is supposed to be. You knock on the closed door you were directed to, which is apparently his office. When you hear what sounds like a muffled "come in", you ease the door open before peeking your head in. Sans stares back at you from behind a desk, looking as if he was filling out some paperwork. As you step through the door, you can't help but notice his office is more of a glorified broom closet. There's just enough room for his desk, a small bookcase, and two chairs that sit in front of his desk.

"Hey," his voice breaks you from your inspection. "I was wondering when you would drop by. I was starting to feel rather bonely."

You chuckle as you take a seat, and reply: "Tibia honest, I wanted to make sure you were settled in before I came over and bothered you. Oh! You'll never guess who I ran into on my way here." You sit on the edge of the chair, with the tupperware hidden behind your back, grinning at the skeleton who looks back at you in confusion. "I'll give you a hint: He was rather upsetti that he couldn't find you." Understanding flashed in his eyes, and he chuckled.

"Oh, you met Pap?" You nodded as you handed him the tupperware, giving him a quick version of your interaction with his brother. He looked slightly irked when you mentioned how the students ignored his brother, but gave you a genuine smile once you finished. "Thank you for helping him out. Who noodles how long he would have wandered around if you hadn't helped him."

You sigh and give him a small smile, "Yeah. It's sad that you have to thank me for something as simple as that. I'm sorry humans suck so much." He arches a pseudo eyebrow at your comment, and turns to place the tupperware on the bookshelf.

"Things are getting better, though. Pap recently started apprenticing at a restaurant close to home. Once we made it to the surface, he decided he wanted to be a chef. He's gotten a lot better at cooking because of it, and he seems pretty happy," Sans hummed, looking down at his papers thoughtfully. "Then I get a call saying my application had been accepted, which I never thought would happen. Still, it's a good sign that monsters can start coming further in to the city. It seems like things are finally starting to go our way, you know?" You nod in agreement.

—

The next few weeks go by in a blur. You spend quite a bit of time with Sans each day, doing various experiments and cracking puns. Sometimes, it doesn't even feel like you guys are working. In fact, with each passing day you feel like you're growing closer to the goofball, and even start to consider him a friend and not just a coworker. Apparently he feels the same, because one day he asks you something that catches you off guard.

"A party?" you ask, making sure you heard correctly. He pauses in his jotting down of observations to look over at you and nod.

"Yeah. Tori wants to throw a party to celebrate Alphys and I getting hired. Since you're my partner in crime, I thought it'd be neat for you to be there," he replies before turning back to his notes. "You don't have to if you don't want to, though. I wouldn't want you to be-"

"I'd love to come," you say quickly, cutting him off. "Just let me know where and when, and I'll be there. Should I bring anything?" For a spilt second you wonder who this "Tori" is, but shake the thought from your mind. ' _That is so not your business,'_ you think to yourself. Sans taps his pen against his chin thoughtfully for a second, before flashing you a smile and giving you the answer you knew was coming.

Three days later, on a Friday afternoon, you're standing in front of a nice brick home, clutching a plate of freshly baked cookies. Your first thought is 'wow' followed by 'I really hope I'm at the right place.' You even check the address Sans gave you for the third time before nodding to yourself and walking up the steps of the porch. The home is of medium size, made of brick, and has a white picket fence around it. In the setting sun the flowers look beautiful, and you can hear the faint hum of voices behind the door. After taking a deep breath, you give the door a couple of knocks.

In a matter of seconds it swings open to reveal a tall, blue skinned (well, scaled) monster. You assume this is the Undyne you've heard about, and offer her a smile before trying to introduce yourself. Trying being the keyword there.

"You must be the nerd Sans was talking about! Don't just stand there Short-stack, come in!" She exclaims, pulling you through the door by your elbow. She's not quite as loud as Papyrus, but certainly could rival him in enthusiasm. You follow her through the hallway and into the living room, still clutching the plate of cookies as if your life depended on it. The chatter stops as soon as you walk through the door.

There are several monsters in the room, but none that you recognize. One of the monsters steps forward and stretches out a hand to you. "Hello! You must be (y/n). We are all so glad you could make it. My name is Toriel." Her voice is so warm and welcoming that you can't help but smile.

"It's nice to meet you, Toriel. Thank you so much for allowing me to come!" You attempt to shake her hand, but nearly drop the plate of cookies in the process. She helps you catch the plate just before it falls, and laughs with you before taking it gently.

"You didn't have to bring these, dear. Your presence is already such a treat," she teases as she walks toward what you assume is the kitchen. It took you a second to realize she made a pun, to which you chuckle lightly.

"You know, Sans didn't mention how short you are!" A hand is roughly placed on your head, causing you to flinch. You look up slightly to see Undyne staring you down. For a second you two stand there in silence, until she starts ruffling your hair and lets out a hearty laugh. "Hey Frisk, get in here! I want to see how close you and Short-stack are in height." You already know what the results are going to be, since Sans has teased you several times about being shorter than a twelve year old, but you decide it's best to humor Undyne (see note at end of chapter).

A young girl comes out from the kitchen, and smiles when she sees you. When she comes to stand next to you, she is indeed about two inches taller than you which puts her at 5'5". Undyne howls with laughter, with several of the other monsters joining in. You turn to Frisk in hopes of striking up a conversation. She smiles at you, and makes a gesture with her hands causing you to be confused before you catch on. Undyne seems to notice, and starts to explain.

"Frisk doesn't talk with words, but with her-" she trails off when she sees you signing back to Frisk. Frisk is taken aback for a second, but starts to sign back to you excitedly. You're a little rusty, but you manage to keep up. The two of you talk about her day for a little while, not noticing Toriel returning to the living room with Sans and Papyrus in tow.

You jump when Sans brushes his hand against your elbow, catching your attention. "You never told me you knew sign language."

You smile mischievously before replying: "Yeah, I'm glad I took sign language in high school. It's coming in rather handy."

There's a pause in all conversations before Papyrus lets out a groan, and cries out: "NO, NOT ANOTHER ONE!" A few chuckles follow his outburst, and you return your attention back to Sans and Frisk. You notice that she's slowed down her signing, and is being much less intricate. ' _Ah,'_ you think to yourself, ' _I bet Sans is learning how to sign.'_ You smile at how focused on her hands he is. Not wanting to listen in (or look on) their conversation, you turn and walk to the couch. There's a vacant spot next to a monster who looks similar to Toriel, only bulkier and taller.

"Is it okay if I sit here with you?" you ask the monster. By appearance, you assume this monster is a male, and your theory is confirmed when he answers you.

"Of course! It's nice to meet you, (y/n). My name is Asgore." You shake his outstretched hand before sitting down next to him. The two of you chat for the next couple of minutes, and you learn that he works as a gardener at a nearby school. He tells you of how it's one of the few public schools that teach both human and monster children. The pride he shows when he tells you of how great a teacher Toriel is causes you to smile. Speaking of Toriel, you look up to notice her making her way to the couch.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was hoping I could borrow you, (y/n). If you wouldn't mind, I could use some help in the kitchen," she explains softly, smiling down at you. You tell Asgore 'bye' for now and stand to follow Toriel as she navigates through the crowd and into the kitchen. It's a pretty decent size, and opens up into a dinning room that has a table of which is currently covered in plates of different sizes and contents. You help Toriel arrange the plates so that it's a buffet style, where people can grab what they want before returning to the living room. She tells you that there's about ten people total, including the two of you, which means there's not enough room in the kitchen to sit together comfortably. Instead, you all will sit in the living room when it comes time to eat.

"(Y/n), dear, can I ask you something?" Toriel suddenly speaks up, sounding rather solemn. When you nod apprehensively, she continues. "Please know that I mean no disrespect when I ask this. However, I need to know the answer. Do you truly support our cause?"

Her question surprises you, and you try to keep the shock from spreading on your face. You keep eye contact, and answer firmly; "Of course I do. I wouldn't be here otherwise, Miss Toriel." Her somber look lets up slightly, and she nods. You feel as if she needs further convincing, so you continue. "I know you guys have met a lot of opposition since you've surfaced. And I know most of that opposition comes from the humans who live in the heart of the city, like myself. But I can promise you that there are several humans there who believe that monsters deserve to have the same rights humans do."

She smiles at you a little more warmly, but you can tell she's still a little apprehensive. "Thank you, dear. You seem very genuine. Please forgive me for being suspicious. When Sans told me about you, I wasn't sure if you had some ulterior motives. We've had a lot of troubles with those silly gangs, and my first thought was that perhaps they were using you to get to us. I'm sure you can understand that I want to keep us all safe."

"I do understand. I'm sure I would do the same if I were in your position," you assure her, giving her a warm smile. "There's nothing wrong with being careful. And I promise, I have no intentions of hurting any of you in anyway. In fact, I don't think I have a mean bone in my body!"

She laughs at that, and the atmosphere returns to being light and warm. After making sure all was arranged properly, Toriel heads into the living room to let the others know the food is ready. In a matter of minutes you're holding a plate of various foods and sitting on the couch again. This time Frisk, who is currently talking to a monster child sitting on the other side of her, is to your left and Sans to your right. Everyone is chattering, with the occasional person congratulating Sans and Alphys. You quickly learn that Alphys is the reptilian monster who sticks close to Undyne, and doesn't speak up much. They occupy the love seat, which is opposite the couch you are sitting on. On the floor next to them sits Papyrus and what looks to be a giant calculator. Toriel and Asgore each sit in their own recliners, talking quietly amongst themselves.

Your attention is caught by Sans trying to sneak a cookie off your plate. You smack at his hand, and jokingly scold him. "Hey, you've had enough cookies! Keep your sneaky hands to yourself, bone-boy." He snickers at the nickname before flashing you the skeletal equivalent of puppy dog eyes. You roll your eyes and hand him the cookie while laughing. "You are terrible, do you know that?"

After the meal some of the others decide to play some games. You school Sans in a game of Smash Bros, only to get your butt handed to you by Undyne in the next round. She laughs at you and challenges you to another match. "Oh, it's on now," you grumble, clutching the controller with determination. You still get owned, several more times in fact, but you have a lot of fun. Between that and chatting with Toriel about work, time flies by way too fast. Before you know it she's winding everyone down, and sending Frisk to bed.

After hugging Frisk goodbye, and shaking Toriel's hand again, you walk outside to say goodbye to the others. As you're telling Alphys and Undyne goodbye, you feel a tap on your shoulder. Once you turn around, arms wrap around your middle before you're suddenly lifted off the ground. Papyrus crushes you in a hug while saying; "THANK YOU FOR COMING, (Y/N)! EVEN THOUGH YOU ALSO TELL TERRIBLE PUNS, YOU ARE GOOD COMPANY." You hug Pap back the best you could, but since your arms were pinned to your side you end up patting his back with your hands.

"Bro, don't crush (y/n). I sort of need her in one piece, you know," you hear Sans say somewhere from behind Pap, who "nyehs" softly before lowering you. Once you're placed back on the ground (and Pap moves to the side), Sans walks up to you and throws his arm around your shoulder. "Thanks for coming and hanging out with us monsters. We enjoyed having you here."

You lean into the hug and scoff softly before saying; "C'mon Sans, we both know you only wanted those cookies! Don't try to feed me your sugarcoated lies!" You try to keep your laughter in, but break down once Pap throws his hands in the air and stomps off yelling. Sans snickers while tightening his arm for a second before releasing you. After saying goodbye, he starts to walk after Papyrus. Still smiling to yourself, you turn and make your way to your car.

Unbeknown to you, a hooded figure was retreating further into the shadows angrily tapping at its phone. It raises the device to its ear, and waits a second before speaking in to it. "Yes, I'm through following her. Tell Boss the rumors are true: she's a sympathizer."


	3. Chapter 3

**Author note:** I sort of feel like this chapter was rushed, but I had to cut some stuff out so that it wasn't too long... It's hard to write everything I want without making it too much to read! Also, I'm posting this super late at night so there might be some mistakes. I apologize in advance!

 **Story:**

You wake up the next morning feeling happier than you had in awhile. Though not entirely sure why, you decide not to question it. Instead, you lay there in silence for a few more minutes, smiling to yourself and reviewing the previous night's events. Even though you had been nervous at first, you were really glad Sans had invited you. Everyone at the party was welcoming, and you felt as if you ended up making some great friends. You couldn't wait to hang out with them again and get to know them better.

Since it's Saturday you start your day off with a nice shower, followed by a hot cup of coffee and some fluffy pancakes. While eating you look over some of the research you and Sans have conducted over the past few weeks. It's hard to believe that it's barely been 40 days, little over a month, since you met him. Never before had you grown so close to someone in such little time. Maybe it's because of his personality. He's always cracking jokes that make you laugh, even when you're having a bad day. More often than not he shares his lunch/snacks with you. Overall, he's like the dream friend. And then there's his intellect. Though notoriously lazy, he's easily the most intelligent person you've ever met. In fact, you sometimes feel terribly uneducated around him. But he's never said or done anything to make you doubt yourself or your work. If anything, he acts like he's your biggest fan. So in a way, he's he ideal coworker too.

Whilst letting your thoughts wander, you almost lose track of time. You look up to see that it's already almost noon, and hop up to get ready to leave for the store. Since you live alone you don't have to go shopping very often, but you were starting to run out of food which means it was time for you to make the trip. After putting on a light jacket, sliding on your shoes, and grabbing your keys you walk out the door.

The drive to the store was uneventful. It was when you walked through the doors of the grocery store that things started getting a little interesting. You noticed there were quite a few monsters walking around the store. Sure, they were getting a few not-so-happy looks from some of the humans, but for the most part no one seemed to really mind. The sight made your chest tingle, causing you to smile.

—

Once you get back to your apartment you leave the groceries in the car while you go to unlock your door, since it'll make bringing the bags in so much easier. Just as your about to slide your key into the lock, you notice that the door is already slightly ajar. You blood runs cold, and you start to shake. Even though it's stupid, you decide to hesitantly open the door and walk in. While it may be dangerous, this is your home, damn it. And what if it turns out you didn't lock, or close, the door when you left? Yeah, there has to be a perfectly good explanation—

"It's about time you got back, (y/n). I was starting to get tired of waiting," a gruff voice calls out to you once you step into the apartment. Your breath catches in your throat when you realize someone is in your home, but you quickly let it out with a sneer when you recognize the voice.

"Why the hell did you break into my home, Jason?"

Said man turns his head to gaze at you over the back of the couch. His signature smirk hitches up a little at your tone, and he motions for you to come closer. When you stay planted in your spot in front of the door, his smirk falls into a scowl. His eyes flicker to your right, and you turn to notice another man leaning on the wall next to your coat rack. When the man makes eye contact with Jason, he straightens up and takes a step towards you. You stand your ground, and turn back to glare at Jason.

"I wasn't expecting you to come running to give me a hug, but I sure as hell didn't expect you to glare daggers at me either. Is that anyway to treat your dear brother?" He chuckles before turning around fully, sitting on his knees so he can rest his arms on the back of the couch. "Why don't you come sit down so we can catch up? It's been awhile, Sis."

"Not long enough," you growl, yet again remaining still. "You better have a good excuse for breaking into my house, or I'm going to have you thrown in jail faster than you can say 'ow'." At your threat the man to your right closes the distance between you quickly, grabbing you by your elbow. His grip tightens painfully, but he says nothing. Instead, he looks to Jason for orders.

"Ouch, Sis. You wound me," he scoffs, feigning surprise. His expression then hardens, any positive emotion now absent from his eyes. "I'm going to give you one more chance. Get your ass over here and sit on this couch before I have homeboy there throw you on it."

Feeling genuinely scared now, you yank your arm free and slowly walk to the couch. Something is screaming at you for being so stupid, but there's no going back now. Soon you're sitting on the couch, pressed agains the arm and as far from Jason as you can get. For a second you see hurt flash in his eyes before they harden again. He turns so that he's facing you the best he can on the couch, and crosses his legs. You can't help but eternally roll your eyes at what a typical asshat he looks like when sitting like that. Some things never change.

"It's been what, six years since we last saw each other? Six years since I heard my little sister's name, or heard anything about her at all. I was never worried though, because you've always had a good head on your shoulders. Out of all us children, you're the only one who really deserves to carry Dad's last name," Jason mumbles, seeming lost in thought. It's a couple of seconds before he resumes talking. And when he does, his voice is dripping with malice. "Imagine my surprise when suddenly your name comes up on The Black List. My family name associated with a possible Sympathizer? I told Boss it had to be a mistake, so instead of taking immediate action we had someone tail the person in question. Tail you," he growls, pointing at you dramatically. If the atmosphere wasn't so thick with anger, you would have chuckled. "Is it true? Have you really been playing nice with those abominations that crawled out from under the mountain?"

As he was talking your expression slowly turned to one of confusion, but at that last bit anger flares up in you. As you reply, you glower at him. "The monsters are not abominations. And yes, some of my friends are monsters. There's nothing wrong with that. I don't see how it's any of your business who my friends are, anyways."

He chuckles darkly before sitting up to lean closer to you. "Oh, but it is my business, little sister," he snarls. "Those things don't belong here. And humans like you make our job harder than it needs to be. I'm going to give you one warning, (y/n). Ditch the monsters. They'll do nothing but drag you down. Be a good little nerd. Focus on getting your doctorate, avoid any monsters, and you'll be fine. If you don't cut off your friendships, we'll be forced to take action. And we'll start with that short punk you work with."

Even though you want to scream at him for threatening Sans, you know it wont do any good. Instead, you decide on a different approach. You sigh deeply, and give Jason you're best solemn look. "Jason, this is ridiculous. I get it: you are angry. A lot of people are. But it was humans that put the monsters under that mountain to begin with," You mumble, hoping you can reason with him. "They suffered for so long, and still are. But honestly, have you seen any of them lash out at us? Even though some humans treat them like trash, they still grin and keep on going."

Jason slowly leans back as you're talking, staring at you blankly. You take this as a good sign, and start to ramble further. "Sans is a great example of what the monsters have to offer. He's really intelligent, and he's helped me so much! And then there's the fact that he's super sweet and funny. We tell a lot of really lame puns, but they always get us laughing until we're almost in tears. He's my best friend, and I couldn't imagine life without him. I really lo-" And it hits you like a train. Even though it's only been little over a month since you met him, you're starting to fall for him. The realization causes a blush to rapidly form on your cheeks.

Apparently, the train also crashes into your brother. Jason narrows his eyes at you, and a sneer starts to form on his face. "Sounds to me like you and that thing are getting a little too close. Don't forget what he is, sis. I'm warning you one last time: stay away from that thing. Or you'll be getting another visit, and it won't be so nice."

You shoot up to your feet, clutching your fists at your side. "Are you freaking kidding me? How can you be one of those "Anti Monster" idiots?" you scream, starting to shake with anger. "And how dare you come in to my home and threaten me. You should be ashamed of yourself! If Dad knew, he'd be ashamed-"

You're cut off mid rant by hands wrapping around your throat. Jason towers over you, his grip on your throat tightening as pure anger fills his eyes. "Dad, ashamed of me? Don't make me laugh!" You start to claw at Jason's hands, not getting enough air to your lungs making you frantic. "You're the one he would be ashamed of, you dirty monster fucker!" He yells, shaking you slightly before dropping you on to the floor. You grasp at your neck, sucking in as much air as you can before coughing. Jason steps around you and goes to join the man standing by your door. "Remember what I said. We'll be keeping an eye on you, (y/n)," he warns. "And we wont hesitate to get our point across." With that he turns and walks out your front door, making sure to slam it behind him.

Tears prickle at the corners of your eyes, but you hold them back. You refuse to cry and let it show that Jason got to you. So you sit on the floor for a few minutes, catching your breath and thinking about what just happened. You take a deep breath before standing and going outside to retrieve your groceries. For the rest of the night you feel like you're walking through a haze. It feels as if you're on autopilot, with all emotion turned off. You go through the motions of eating dinner and getting dressed for bed before finally sitting in your bed for what feels like hours. It's not until your phone goes off that you're broken from your trance.

From: Bone-boy  
*Are you the energizer bunny?

You stare at the phone for a second, having no idea what he means. For a second you think he's texted the wrong number, and you were in the process of replying when he sent you a second text.

From: Bone-boy  
*'Cause you just keep running through my mind

A blush spreads across your face, and you let out a nervous giggle. While one half of your brain is telling you to stop so he doesn't get hurt, the other half is telling you to respond. Here you are, hours after getting threatened by your psycho brother doing the exact thing he told you not to. If the bruises on your neck are anything to go by, you know he meant it when he said he would go after Sans. But at the same time, you don't want to let fear control you. Not giving yourself enough time to think about it, you hurriedly respond:

To: Bone-boy  
-If I had a star for every time you brightened my day, I would be holding a galaxy.

As soon as you hit send, your nerves are fried. 'Oh no, why did I do that? What if I totally misread the situation and now he hates me! Or worse, what if Jason-'

You phone vibrates, signaling a new message.

From: Bone-boy  
*On a scale of 1-10: you're a 9, and I'm the 1 you need.  
*We could talk about it tomorrow over dinner?

You take a deep breath, pushing your fears away, and don't hesitate to respond.

To: Bone-boy  
-I'd love to.

 **Author note:**

Welp, I hope that wasn't horrible. It was harding figuring out what parts to cut out. If you guys want me to, I might add in the cut scenes though. I originally had the reader run into a certain monster at the store, and have a sort of breakdown after Jason left (y'know, as a sort of transition between that and the thing with Sans). But I felt the chapter was too long, so I cut them out.

Which leads to my next question: are these lengths okay? Too short? Too long? Please let me know!

Thank y'all ^^


	4. Chapter 4

You had never really trusted the police. Maybe it was because you got several speeding tickets back when you were a teenager, or because they never seemed to do their job when they were needed most. Then again, a big factor of your distrust could stem from the fact that you hate having to ask for help. Admitting you can't take care of everything, and letting others see you at your weakest point, really bothered you.

It's been nearly two hours since you walked through the doors of the police department. The receptionist behind the glass seemed to already know why you were there, and told you to take a seat until the next available officer could meet with you. As you sit and wait, you people-watch. There are about six other people in the small waiting room, and they all seemed to be either angry or worried. No one was talking, so the atmosphere was rather tense. Throughout the two hours all of those people were led to the back by an officer, until finally it was your turn.

As you follow the officer back to his desk, you notice how tired he appears. He's young, probably about your age, but you can tell that stress is taking its toll on him. When you make it to his desk, he sits down with a heavy sigh and looks at you with sullen eyes. You notice his badge says 'Shupe'. "I'm sorry about the wait," he says with a yawn, also rubbing at his eyes. "We're short staffed right now, and there's been a lot of reports filed today. I'm going to go ahead and guess you were threatened by the MC? I'll go ahead and take the note they left you and file a report, but-"

"Wait, other people are being threatened?" you ask, interrupting the officer. His tired look flickers into one of irritation, but you don't pause long enough for him to continue. "I wasn't left a note. Two men broke into my home to threaten and assault me."

Now the officer looks shocked, but quickly covers it up before picking up a pen and writing something down. "I apologize for making an assumption rather then letting you explain to begin with. Please, can you tell me what these men said, and how they assaulted you?"

You shift uncomfortably in your seat before replying. "Well, they told me that if I didn't stop associating with monsters they would be forced to 'get their point across'. They said if I didn't take their warning seriously they would go after my friend and coworker, who's a monster. When I retaliated, one of them nearly strangled me." With the last sentence you brush your hair away from your neck, and turn your head so the officer can see the forming bruises from where Jason's fingers dug in to your flesh.

"We'll have to take some pictures to document the assault. Can you remember any distinguishing characteristics that could be used to identify the men who did this?" Office Shupe asks.

"Yes, I actually know one of the men," you mumble. "His name is Jason (l/n). He's my older brother." Shock flashes across the officers eyes. You break eye contact in favor of staring at your lap. You wring your hands as you continue talking. "I'm sure he's in your database since he's been in trouble with the law before. I bet if you find him, you'll be able to get to the gang. Then all of this can be sorted out, right?"

Officer Shupe sighs deeply, and rubs at the bridge of his nose. "Look, Miss (y/n), I'm not going to lie to you. We'll investigate this, but I can't promise you that Jason will be put behind bars for it. A lot of people, cops included, still hate monsters and those that associate with them."

"It's your job to protect the citizens of this city!" you reply, your voice growing frantic. "That includes monsters! If there are cops that aren't doing their job, why aren't they being fired?"

"Calm down, Miss (y/n)," he demands sharply. "You don't understand how tight a grip the MC has on the city. On the law enforcement. There's a reason-"

"You know what, forget it," you interrupt him, standing abruptly. "I shouldn't be surprised that the police are too afraid to do their job. Forget the report, I'm probably better off on my own anyways," you spit out bitterly and turn to walk away. He doesn't say anything, and doesn't try to stop you. The receptionist only watches you curiously as you stomp past her and out the door.

"Why am I even surprised," you ask yourself softly, glaring at the sidewalk as you walk away from the police station. Your thoughts are all over the place at this point. If the cops aren't going to help you, what should you do? You couldn't tell Sans, you knew that much. Or any of your monster friends, for that matter. It would put them in danger. But so would being their friend. You could always pick up everything and move somewhere where there was no MC, no Jason, and… No Sans..

You groan and hang your head in defeat. A couple of passing people look at you oddly, but you just shoulder past them and pay them no mind. No, running from your problems wasn't going to solve anything. It would just make a lot of people miserable. Instead, you decide to put the whole thing on the back burner and deal with it later. While you were now more worried about it, you still had a date (was it considered a date?) to get ready for.

—

As you were getting ready you realized you didn't have many 'semi formal' clothes, which is what Sans told you to wear. Apparently you were going to some sort of fancy restaurant. You found that odd for Sans, but decided not to dwell on it. Instead you placed all your focus on trying to find something nice to wear. In the end you decide on a simple, black dress that makes you feel girly, but not overwhelmingly so. You put a little effort in to your makeup and hair, but it also remains relatively simple. You wanted to still look like you, but also wanted to show that you cleaned up nicely. When it was all said and done, you were rather pleased with your look.

After you finish getting ready, you pace around your apartment nervously. This would be the first date you had ever been on (you didn't consider the awkward "dates" you went on in high school to be actual dates), and you were afraid of messing it up. If things didn't go well and he ended up changing his mind about liking you (if that is indeed how he felt), it would make things really awkward. You weren't sure you could handle that, especially after what you'd been through in the past 24 hours.

A knock at the door causes you to nearly jump out of your skin. As you make your way towards it you pat at your hair and dress, making sure everything was in order. You take a deep breath and smile brightly as you're opening the door. Standing before you is a very sharply dressed Sans.

He's wearing a white, long sleeve button down shirt. There are black suspenders that are connected to his black slacks, and a red bowtie around his neck. You quickly glance up from his attire when you realize you were staring, and see that there's a blue hue across his cheeks. You assume this is his version of blushing, and you decide to break the ice.

"Well, don't you look snazzy. You clean up nicely, Sans," you giggle, reaching out to straighten his bowtie. This seems to break him from his trance, and he returns your smile.

"Not as snazzy as you, though. You look absolutely beautiful," he compliments. Then his eyes suddenly go wide. "Not that you don't always look beautiful! Because you do!" he stammers out quickly. "It's just a different beautiful than when you wear your lab coat." He rubs at the back of his skull, and glances at the ground awkwardly. The blue blush is spreading across his skull, which you find absolutely adorable.

"You're too sweet Sans," you coo before turning to close and lock your door. When you turn back around Sans offers you his arm, and you thread yours through his. He leads you to a red convertible car, that has the top up.

"And here I thought we were going to take your scooter," you tease while bumping shoulders with him. You're pleased to see that his blush is slowly fading. At your comment he chuckles.

"Nah, I felt that was too exciting for our first date." Now it's your turn to blush. "And Pap was all but too eager to lend me his car. He did warn me not to trash it, though," he admits while opening the passenger door for you. You slide in and buckle up.

"So would you say a prank is out of the question then?" You ask as he turns on the ignition. He hums in thought before asking what you had in mind. "Well, we could put confetti in the air vents so that when he turns the air conditioner on he'll get sprayed with it," you reply thoughtfully, rubbing at your chin for extra effect. "Or glitter. Although, that's more of a pain to try and clean up. He might disown you for that." That gets you a laugh, and you feel as if the ice is fully broken now. The rest of the drive consists of you fine tuning the prank and looking up where you could buy confetti.

You end up driving closer to the edge of town, where monsters are a more common sight. The restaurant is a decently sized Italian restaurant that you're pleased to see has both human and monster staff. The hostess, who is a flame monster, seats the two of you towards the middle of the establishment, next to some potted plants. You notice that it's not overly busy, but not completely empty either. There's maybe three other couples seated near you, and a few others towards the back.

"Thanks Fuku," Sans calls out to the monster as she starts to walk away. She gives him a small wave before going back to the front. "Her dad's an old friend," he explains.

"Do you know a lot of monsters?" you ask as you brush some hair out of your face.

"There's a lot of us, so I don't know everyone, but I do know quite a few. I used to be a sentry, so I interacted with a lot of monsters," he explains while nodding. Your waiter comes at this time to take your orders. Sans surprises you when he asks for a bottle of wine to be brought with your meal. Once you're alone again, you turn back to Sans.

"A sentry? I can't really picture you as anything other than a scientist," you admit. While you wanted to know more about him being a sentry, something told you that was a touchy subject. As you're quickly trying to think of something to ask about, Sans makes a noise similar to that of a surprised gasp. You look up to see the blush is back on his cheekbones and he's focused on something behind you. When you turn to look you see nothing there, but can hear Sans moving around behind you.

"Is everything okay Sans?" you ask when you turn around to see him glaring off to your left. You're confused as to why he's glaring at the plants, but he quickly turns back to you.

"Everything's perfect when you're around," he replies smoothly, leaning an arm on the table and flashing you a smile. Your own blush starts to form, and his spreads further across his face. The plants seem to shift, which causes you to turn and look at them again. Sans hurriedly grabs at your hand to retrieve your attention, and pulls your hand closer to his side of the table. When he runs his thumb over the back of your hand, you feel your ears burn. At this point, you're sure you look like a tomato. "You know, when I sent you that text last night I was afraid you were going to shoot me down," he admits, still running his thumb over your knuckles.

Just as you're about to respond, the waiter returns with your food. He places your plate of Alfredo in front of you, warning that it's hot, as well as placing Sans's pasta in front of him. Finally he sets an elegant looking bottle of wine in front of Sans before walking away. The skeleton, who is for some reason glancing at the plants again, goes to pour you a glass but misses horribly. He instead spills wine all over you and the table. When you gasp and push your chair back, he quickly turns back to see what he did. You try to reassure him that it's okay, but he keeps apologizing profusely while trying to wipe up the mess. He gives you a distraught look when you tell him you're going to the bathroom to clean up.

Once you're out of sight, Sans turns and kicks at the potted plants. He hears an 'ow' before two heads pop up from behind the plants. Papyrus looks at Sans guiltily, but Undyne is nearly doubled over trying to hold back laughter. "Why are you two here?" Sans growls. "You distracted me and look what happened!"

"WE CAME TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR DATE, BROTHER! ONCE YOU LEFT I REALIZED YOU FORGOT THE OFFICIAL DATING RULEBOOK I GAVE YOU." Papyrus whispers rather loudly. "IF YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE A SUCCESSFUL DATE, YOU'RE GOING TO NEED IT!"

"Yeah Sans, we're just here to help you. And boy do you need it!" Undyne adds, gesturing to the spilt wine. Sans glares at the duo before going back to wiping at the spill. "If you're gonna win her heart, you need to lay off the mushy crap," she says as she comes to stand along side the distraught skeleton. Between the three of them the mess is cleaned rather quickly, but there's still a burgundy stain on the white table cloth.

"DON'T LISTEN TO UNDYNE, BROTHER. THE MUSHIER, THE BETTER!" Pap reassures Sans.

"Forgive me if I don't take any more of your advice, bro," Sans mumbles. "I think it's safe to say I completely botched this date."

"Aww, don't say that. I thought the date was going pretty well. And hi you two!" The three monsters freeze at your voice. Papyrus and Undyne share a look before they turn tail to run off, leaving a very disheveled Sans behind. You curiously watch as they run off before turning to give Sans a small smile. "I'm guessing they were hiding behind the plants?" When Sans nods you laugh. "Well, what do you say we finish dinner and work on that prank?"

The rest of the dinner starts out tense, but quickly dissolves into a more relaxed atmosphere. He tells you more about his time Underground, and you tell him a little about your childhood. Time flies by and before you know it, it's been nearly two hours since you got to the restaurant. Too quickly you're back at your apartment, having just finished shoving the car's air vents full of confetti. Sans opens the car door for you, and holds your hand as he walks you back to your door. You have to let go of his hand to open the door, and instantly miss the warmth it provided.

"I had a lot of fun Sans! Thank you," you chirp happily, instinctively leaning in to give him a hug. He hugs you back almost instantly and chuckles.

"Hey, you know what material this shirt's made of?" he asks as you pull back. When you shake your head 'no' his smile widens, although his eye sockets look a little worried. "Boyfriend material, of course."

You grin stupidly while giggling. "I dunno," you coo, amused when he grows more worried, "I think it's more like bonefriend material." He laughs at your terrible pun and pulls you back into a hug. You stand there wrapped up in each other for a few seconds before you pull back and place a gentle kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you at work tomorrow, Bone-boy. Drive safe."

 **Author Note:**

I don't know if you guys are going to like how I envision Sans. Sure, he's all suave with Frisk but I feel like he wouldn't know how to woo a grown woman. Awkward, virgin Sans is my favorite type of Sans ^^

If you would like to see the dress I drew my inspiration from, you can see it here:  
products/crazy-beautiful-fit-flare-dress

And here's the suited up Sans! (the one I drew inspiration from is the far right):  
art/Have-Some-Sans-568456315


	5. Chapter 5

Usually Sans gets to work half an hour to an hour after you each day. On Monday, however, he comes through the door of your office not even five minutes after you do. When he takes his usual seat next to you, you notice that he slides his chair closer to yours. You smile up at him before returning to the paperwork you were filling out. He leans back in his chair to prop his feet up on your desk, all the while placing his hands behind his head. The two of you sit in comfortable silence for awhile, and he watches as you write.

"Can I hold your hand?" He asks suddenly, shocking you a little. Your smile grows as you silently extend your left hand to him, still writing away with your right. His chair returns to the floor, and he grasps your hand in his own. Just like the night before, you're enthralled by how warm his hands can be. They feel like human bone, but aren't as cold as you think they would be. Sans traces patterns on the back of your hand with his left, studying it intently. "Humans are really soft," he hums. "Where I'm all pointy and hard, you're fleshy and soft. I've never felt anything like it."

"There are monsters who are soft and fleshy," you tease. He squeezes your hand as he chuckles.

"Yeah, but you're different," he insists, but doesn't elaborate. The two of you go back to sitting in silence while Sans continues to trace patterns on your hand. When you look up at him, and see how content he is, you're filled with worry. All this could be taken away, and he wouldn't even see it coming. Even though you've only known him for a short time, you know it'd be hard to live without him. If not impossible.

You know what you have to do, so you gather up all your courage and clear your throat to get his attention. "Can I ask you something?" He hums in approval but doesn't look up from your intertwined hands. His left hand starts to trail up your arm, stopping at your elbow to trace it too. You swallow down the lump in your throat and ask; "Do you know anything about the MC?"

His hand stills momentarily before resuming its tracing. "Yeah," he replies smoothly, but you can detect the underlying tension in his voice. "They think themselves a gang, but they're really no more than a group of rowdy boys. Why do you ask?" His left hand returns to rest on the back of yours so that your hand is cupped between both of his.

"They sort of sent someone to threaten me," you mumble, hanging your head so you could hide behind your hair. Your face and ears burn, and you start to shiver from both fear and embarrassment. Telling Sans this was turning out to be harder than you thought it would be.

One of this hands leaves yours to gently touch your cheek. He turns and tilts your head so that you're looking up at him, and you see worry etched on his face. Momentarily you're caught up in trying to figure out how a skeleton can show emotions, but quickly shake it from your thought so you can focus on him. "Are you okay?" He asks softly, but urgently. His white, pinprick pupils flicker across your face, either trying to read you or looking for any injuries. You hope that just like the night before, the makeup you used on your neck continued to conceal the light bruises.

"They mostly just tried to scare me into submission. I promise I'm fine," you reassure while giving his hand a comforting squeeze. "I'm not worried about me, though. I'm worried about what they could do to you." At this his pupils begin to grow dim before disappearing entirely. A tremor travels up your spine.

"What exactly did they say?" he asks slowly, his voice much deeper than normal. You were torn between being afraid and fascinated. You had never seen him like this before, and weren't too sure what it meant. When you don't respond right away, his hand tightens around yours a little more. Not painfully, but enough to let you know he's waiting for an answer.

You lean into the hand that's still cupping your cheek and try to keep eye contact with his now-empty eye sockets. "They said that if I didn't 'ditch' you and the others they'd pay you and I a visit to 'get their point across'," you respond meekly. "I went to the police and they were no help. It seems like the MC has them in their back pocket. I'm not going to give them what they want, but I don't know what to do. It feels like no matter what, I'm putting you in danger."

He chuckles darkly before removing his hand from your cheek. As he settles back in to his chair, his pupils reappear and his grin is back to a goofy one. The thumb of the hand still holding yours ghosts over you knuckle as he says, "I can handle a few trouble makers. Don't worry, I'll take care of it."

His tone was firm, letting you know you that there was no room for debate or negotiation. You had a lot of concerns, but decided not to voice them. You knew you wouldn't be getting anywhere with doing so. Instead you mumble out, "Just promise me you'll be careful." He nods at this, but doesn't verbally confirm the promise.

At the end of the day you're sitting on Sans's couch, watching Papyrus as he prepares the three of you some spaghetti. Sans hadn't been as talkative since you told him about the MC, but had stepped up his clinging game. Since then he had let go of your hand a handful (hehe) of times and would snatch it back as soon as he could. While you liked the attention, it was starting to get a little uncomfortable. Not having flesh meant that his bones dug into your thin fingers, which were slowly growing sore.

Speaking of Sans, he was currently watching the TV, which had the calculator from the other day on it, but you felt as if he wasn't paying it all that much attention. His eyes kept darting to the window off to your right which fueled your suspicion. When you glance over you couldn't tell what he would be looking at since it was pitch dark outside. You were about to ask him if something was wrong when Papyrus bounded in to the room announcing that dinner was finished. Sans peeled himself from the couch and led you to the dining room where the three of you sat down. The dining table was a small square that meant you sat facing Papyrus with Sans to your left.

Pap chattered mindlessly about the dishes he had prepared at work, and how the head chef was growing more impressed with him each day. You would add in little comments and smile occasionally, but Sans never said a word. When you glanced over at him you noticed all his spaghetti was gone, which shocked you seeing as you'd only been sitting for about ten minutes. He was staring back in your direction, but his focus was on the window behind you.

He stood up suddenly, shocking Pap in to silence. "I'm going to go for a walk," he says quickly, already out of the kitchen as the last word leaves his mouth. You stood to follow him but Papyrus had blocked your path.

"(Y/N) WOULD YOU MIND HELPING ME WITH THE DISHES?" He asks, gently taking your wrist in his large hand.

"But Sans-"

"BROTHER LIKES TO TAKE HIS WALKS ALONE," Papyrus interrupts. "HE'LL BE BACK SOON, THOUGH. WHY DON'T WE GET THESE DISHES CLEANED BEFORE HE GETS BACK?" Your narrow your eyes at him, knowing he's trying to distract you. With an angry sigh you give in and pick up yours and Sans's plate.

"Of course, Papyrus."

Papyrus washes and rinses the dishes before handing them to you to dry. He's back to rambling about who knows what, but you're not paying him any attention. You're watching the entrance to the kitchen, trying to listen for the front door. Sans had been gone for awhile, and with each passing minute you were growing more worried. Papyrus notices your lack of attention and asks you a question to bring it back to him.

"DO YOU HAVE ANY SIBLINGS, (Y/N)?" You force your eyes back to Papyrus, and give him a small smile.

"Yes, I have three brothers. Two older and one younger," you answer. He looks at you expectingly, so you continue on. "The eldest is named Chris. He lives on the other side of the city where he works as a lawyer. My youngest brother is Joseph. He's a junior in high school, and quite the ladies man from what I hear," you chuckle.

"WHAT ABOUT THE MIDDLE BROTHER?" He asks, sounding highly intrigued. Your smile falter but try to cover it up with a small laugh.

"I don't really know, Pap. Jason and I never really got along, so we haven't been in touch for years."

"HOW COME, (Y/N)? FAMILY IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IN THE WORLD," he chastises you.

Your brows draw together, but you can't make yourself fell angry at his words. Pap is too sincere to mean any harm. "Our dad left his mom for mine," you explain solemnly. "He's never admitted it but I think that's the reason he's always been so cold to me." Papyrus looks shocked at your words, but doesn't get to ask any more questions.

The front door opens and closes, stealing your attention and causing you to practically run to the walkway of the kitchen. You resist throwing yourself at Sans and engulfing him in a hug. Instead, you inspect him for any signs of injury and ask how his walk was. You had put two-and-two together and figured he must have been watching to see if your were being tailed. His sudden departure had you worried that he approached whoever it was. You notice that he looks more tired than he did when he left, but you can see no signs of a confrontation. "How was your walk?" you ask, trying to keep your tone light.

"It was alright," he responds with a shrug. When he holds out his hand for you, you hesitate a second before taking it. "Let's watch a movie before you go home. Pap, pick something out." Sans leads you to the couch. Once there you resume your previous arrangement, and Papyrus joins you by sitting on the other side of Sans. The movie is some action film you had seen before, so you spend the time watching Sans from the corner of you eye. He's relaxed noticeably since his 'walk', and looks to be on the verge of falling asleep. You glance down at your intertwined hands, where you swear you can feel a small current of something pulsing through his bones. _'It's probably magic,_ ' you think to yourself as you bring your eyes back to the TV. Well whatever Sans did, you sure hoped it didn't come back to bite you.


	6. Chapter 6

That old saying "Time flies when you're having fun" took on a whole new meaning for you. After the strangely cryptic night at Sans's home, time flew by really fast. Before you can even process what's happening, two months zoom by. You can hardly believe you've only known the skeleton for four months, since it feels like a lifetime. Maybe it was because he kept you so busy you hardly had time to lounge around, let alone worry about the MC. While it could get annoyingly over cumbersome, you couldn't help but enjoy all the attention he would lavish upon you. It was a nice change from the boring, lonesome life you used to live.

Date night had become a twice-a-week occurrence, but those weren't the only nights you would spend time with him. Oh no, there hardly went a day in which you wouldn't spend some amount of time with Sans after work. Whether it was enjoying a movie at his home, hanging out with his friends, or going for walks through the park, he hardly left your side. You know he feels responsible for the MC visiting you, and was trying to keep you safe. Any attempt of getting him to confess so failed horribly, and you learned to just leave the topic alone. Instead, you tried to make his self-appointed superhero role easier by letting him do whatever made him happy. A happy Sans led to a happy you, after all!

Like any other day at work, you and Sans are joking around as you review data. You're snickering at a really lame chemistry pun when his phone suddenly goes off. He steps out of the office to take it, and you continue looking over the papers in front of you. After a few minutes he returns, slumps down in his chair, and you grow worried.

"What's wrong?" you ask Sans, gently setting your hand overtop his, which was resting on his thigh. He sighs deeply before rotating his hand and grasping yours. When he looks up at you, you stiffen at how beat down he looks. As the weeks have gone by, you've seen that look a few times. He usually tried to hide how tired and worried he had become, but now it was painted clearly on his face.

"That was Tori. Her and Frisk are meeting with the Mayor tonight to talk about the rising violence against monsters," he replies slowly. He starts running his thumb over your knuckles, and you lightly squeeze his hand in return. When you tell him that's good, he hums in the back of his throat. "It's a step in the right direction, I guess. The catch is: Tori wants me to be there when they meet the guy. Which means I can't take you home. And I don't like that."

You chuckle slightly, despite knowing this was no time for laughs, and pat your intertwined hands lovingly. "I can survive one night without you, Sans. You don't always have to be my superhero, you know. You try so hard, and I can tell it's wearing you down." He goes to interrupt you, but you quickly press the tips of your fingers to his teeth, successfully cutting him off. "Dude, you can't fool me. I love spending time with you, and you emknow/em that, but I can tell it takes a lot of energy out of you. Maybe this will be a good break to our routine. You'll get to relax a little tonight."

He snorts at that, and tries to nip at your fingers. You pull them back with a giggle, only just escaping. "I won't be able to relax unless I know you're safe, and emyou/em know that. Maybe I should have Pap-"

"Saaaaans," you groan, weakly pushing at his chest. "Don't do that! One night won't kill me, I promise. So there's absolutely no need to make Papyrus do that!" He stares at you for a second before shaking his head with a sigh. "Sans, don't make me give you the puppy-dog eyes," you warn halfheartedly. "I will totally do it, and you know it!"

"Fine," he mumbles with a small chuckle. "But you better text me as soon as you get home, and answer when I call after the meeting. No matter how late it is. Deal?" After you agree to his terms, he pulls you into a hug. "If you don't answer my call, I'm coming over to investigate. So unless you want a repeat of last week, you better answer!" At his "warning" you pull back with a groan, a blush already forming on your cheeks. Last week you made the mistake of jumping in the shower right after Sans left your house, which meant you missed his call once he got home. Let's just say, it was really embarrassing to step out of your shower only to have Sans burst through your bathroom door at that exact moment. It took two days before the two of you could stop blushing.

"You jerk, I thought we had an unspoken agreement never to speak of that again!" You huff out, trying to pull away and hide your face in shame. Sans only laughs and pulls you back into the hug while nuzzling your forehead with his teeth. That and eskimo-kisses had become your way of showing physical affection to one another, since Sans was lacking in the lips department. In all honesty, it took a lot of practice to be able to not injure yourself with 'kissing' your skeletal boyfriend. But after plenty of practice, and a few bandaids, you had it down to a science now! So you return his pseudo kiss before gently pushing him away and standing up. "Alright you big goofball; it's about time for us to close up shop, don't you think?" you ask as you stretch, letting your bones pop after sitting in the same position for so long. Sans gives you that weird look he always does when you pop any of your bones before finally standing up as well.

"Have fun at your meeting, Bone-boy. And I promise to text you as soon as I get home!" You exclaim as you throw your arms around his shoulders and place a real kiss on his cheek. A blue hue appears, although it's not as bright as it used to be. You've both grown used to showing one another affection, and don't get as embarrassed anymore. He gives you another pseudo kiss before walking you to your car. There he reminds you of your promise before closing the door and letting you drive away.

* * *

As soon as you get home, you make a beeline for the bathtub (but not before letting Sans know you made it home in one piece). You had decided while driving home that what you really, really need tonight was to take a nice, long bubble bath. The thought of soaking in a hot bath probably excited you more than it should have, but you weren't about to let such an opportunity pass you up. So, within a matter of minutes you had the bath running while you hunted down some candles and looked up some soothing music to play. You were totally going to pamper yourself to night before getting some extra sleep.

While you're soaking in the almost-too-hot water, you let your thoughts run wild. You think about how great work as been going, how wonderful your relationship with Sans has turned out, and finally you settle on worrying about the MC. It occurs to you in that moment that you hadn't thought about them much, which suddenly makes your anxiety shoot through the roof. Like Sans had mentioned earlier, violence against monsters had picked up a little in the past few weeks. Granted, you weren't sure exactly how much since Sans tried his hardest to keep you from knowing/worrying about that sort of thing. But you knew that a few monsters had gotten beat up pretty bad but none were killed, thank goodness.

' _No!'_ You think to yourself as you sink further into the bath. _'I am not going to worry about that tonight. Sans is going to handle it. He'll make sure everything will be the way that it should be, and that there will be no more violence.'_ You nod to yourself, fully believing every word you told yourself. With those thoughts you relax back into your bath. You lay there and soak for a few more minutes before getting out. After drying off you put on your underclothes and an oversized t-shirt that once belonged to Sans. You may or may not have claimed the comfy black shirt as your own after it ended up in your laundry...

You're rubbing at your damp hair with a towel as you walk out of the bathroom and in to your bedroom, so you accidentally run into a wall. For a split second you brush it off as nothing, but then you stop dead in your tracks. When you collided with that wall, it let out a soft "oof".

In a matter of second you've thrown the damp towel at the 'wall' and are making a mad dash for the exit. When hands grasp at your shirt, you let out a shrill shriek of terror and try to twist free.

"Stop screaming, you stupid bitch," a male voice growls out at you. Your assailant manages to wrap his entire fat hand around your forearm, and pulls you flat against his body. As you're struggling to get free, you can feel his other arms shift around near his hip, which causes you to struggle harder. In an act of desperation you throw your head back, and manage to hit him. When he screams out and lets you go, you dash for the door again. You don't look back, knowing it will only slow you down, and instead continue trying to run for the front door in a blind panic.

You're completely caught off guard when an arm darts out from the shadows, hitting you in the stomach. You double over in pain, gasping, as another man steps out from the shadows. He twists his hands in your hair and lifts you up by it. When you look at him, you realize he's the same man that was here with Jason, and your blood runs cold. He smirks at you before shaking your head by your hair violently.

"It seems your attitude hasn't gotten any better. Too bad for you that big brother isn't here to save you this time," his voice reminds you of nails in a blender. He lets out a dark laugh as you kick out at him weakly, but instead of dropping you he turns you around and wraps he other hand around your neck. With you back pressed up against him, you're forced to watch as the other man approaches you. For a slip second you're proud of yourself when you see the blood pouring out of his nose, but your fear returns when you see the murderous look in his eyes.

"I think you broke my nose, you little slut," he growls at you as he stomps up to you. Your breath catches in your throat as he raises a hand to your face. In it is a damp rag that smells sickeningly sweet. "I'm going to make you pay for that." he promises as he goes to presses the rag over your nose and mouth. You try to keep yourself from breathing the chloroform in, even trying to shake yourself free, but your head is only held tighter in place until your body finally forces you to take a deep breath in. As you do so, the chloroform rushes in and quickly does its job. Your vision goes black as you slump agains the man holding you. The last thing you hear is a chorus of dark laughter.


End file.
